Villa Renate

The Ginko Tree was unfamiliar to me, but that changed with this project. The plot we were to build on was narrow and long, so we wanted to separate ourselves from the road and its noise by erecting a long concrete wall. The purpose of this wall was to shield our property and create a clear separation between the road and the building. The ginkgo tree grows very well in our area, and I really like its striking leaf shape. So, I imagined that it should be possible to use this plant as a model for our house.

After a great deal of consultation, this idea was successful. We designed the balcony railings with perforations that corresponded to the leaves of the ginko. It was a long and time-consuming process from our idea to its realization, as the first samples did not meet our expectations: the perforations were not as we had imagined, or we did not like the color. In the end, we found a combination of all the above-mentioned themes, and the horizontal railings could be ordered, produced, and installed.

Then the construction company called me to an early meeting on the building site, as the planting in the entrance area had to be selected. On the journey to the construction site, I thought about what I could suggest. Both the gardening company and the client were present at the meeting, and they had a vivid discussion. I just listened, and after a while, I asked whether it wouldn’t be possible to plant a real ginko in the entrance area, as the railings have the ginko stamped as a pattern. Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees, and sometimes a ginko grows out of aluminum.